Nearly 12M Californians have already cast ballots ahead of Election Day

Early voting in California has reached unprecedented levels as this election invigorated civic engagement given everything that's at stake.

More than half of registered voters in California have already cast their ballots ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3. The Secretary of State’s office announced that 11,822,758 ballots have been returned as of Monday. 

The Golden State is likely to beat the voter turnout of the 2016 election. According to The Los Angeles Times, California has cast 76.9% of the 14.6 million total votes counted four years ago.

“It’s undeniable, absolutely factual, 100% we’re going to set a record in the total number of votes cast in an election in California,” said Paul Mitchell, vice president for Political Data.

Paul Mitchell, vice president of data source firm Political Data, told the news outlet, "It’s undeniable, absolutely factual, 100% we’re going to set a record in the total number of votes cast in an election in California."